John 20:19-31
There’s nothing worse than being with a group of people who are talking about an experience that you haven’t had. There’s only so far that you can go in trying to understand what they are saying and feeling. It’s easy for me to understand how Thomas might be feeling when the disciples say that Jesus has risen and that they have seen him.
I feel I have a lot in common with Thomas. I am more at home with things that are enfleshed and concrete than theories and abstractions. It has always struck me that when Jesus says to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; look, here are my hands. Give me your hand; put it into my side. Doubt no longer but believe.’ this is as much a challenge as it is a comfort. Thomas now has the choice to live in the light of the resurrected Christ or to walk away and find a different path.
I love these lines from Godhead Here in Hiding and they always come to mind when I hear today’s Gospel.
I am not like Thomas, wounds I cannot see,
But I plainly call thee Lord and God as he:
This faith each day deeper be my holding of,
Daily make me harder hope and dearer love.
Whether we need concrete assurance or are happy to take things on trust, the invitation is the same: live in the light of the resurrection. The events of the past weeks in the liturgy and with Pope Francis’ illness, death and burial certainly have focused my mind on the mystery of life and death. I saw many things in Pope Francis. He certainly embodied for me one who could earnestly pray ‘daily make me harder hope and dearer love.‘
Look back over your week, has anything deepened your faith and invited you to dearer love?